This study examined the relationships between the role of the instructor and university students’ learning outcomes in cloud-based classrooms during the COVID-19 pandemic. The results of an online survey of 7,210 university students in mainland China revealed that the students’ perceived learning outcomes and learning satisfaction were positively related to instructor innovation and negatively related to instructor performance. Instructional support was positively related to the students’ perceived learning outcomes but not directly related to their learning satisfaction. The students’ academic self-efficacy (...) mediated the influence of instructional support and instructor innovation on their perceived learning outcomes and learning satisfaction. The results contribute to knowledge of the role instructors play in facilitating students’ learning outcomes in higher education and suggest ways to improve the learning environment and learning outcomes, especially in cloud-based virtual classrooms. (shrink)

This study investigated university students’ perceptions of facilitation strategies, learning motivation, and satisfaction, and the relationships between them in a cloud-based virtual classroom in mainland China. The results of an online questionnaire survey from a sample of 7,210 university students showed that students perceived high levels of facilitation strategies, learning motivation, and satisfaction. Students’ demographic characteristics, such as discipline, university type, gender, and grade, did not significantly affect their perceptions of facilitation strategies and learning outcomes. Instructor-student interaction and (...) instructor innovation were positively related to student learning motivation and satisfaction whereas the relationships between student interaction and learning motivation and satisfaction were weak and had no practical meaning. The findings of this study have implications for creating more effective synchronous online learning environments and achieving desirable learning outcomes. (shrink)

In standard times, approximately 20% of children and youth experience significant emotional, behavioral, or social challenges. During COVID-19, however, over half of parents have reported mental health symptoms in their children. Specifically, depressive symptoms, anxiety, contamination obsessions, family well-being challenges, and behavioral concerns have emerged globally for children during the pandemic. Without treatment or prevention, such concerns may hinder positive development, personal life trajectory, academic success, and inhibit children from meeting their potential. A school-based resiliency program for children for children (...) was developed, and the goal of this study was to collaborate with stakeholders to translate it into an online-live hybrid. Our team developed a methodology to do this based on Knowledge Translation-Integration, which incorporates stakeholder engagement throughout the entire research to action process. KTI aims to ensure that programs are acceptable, sustainable, feasible, and credible. Through collaboration with parents and school board members, qualitative themes of concerns, recommendations and validation were established, aiding in meaningful online-live translation. Even though the original program was developed for intellectually gifted children, who are at greater risk for mental health concerns, stakeholders suggested using the program for both gifted and non-gifted children, given the universal applicability of the tools, particularly during this pandemic time period when mental health promotion is most relevant. An online-live approach would allow students studying at home and those studying in the classroom to participate in the program. Broader implications of this study include critical recommendations for the development of both online-live school programs in general, as well as social-emotional literacy programs for children. (shrink)

To research teachers’ priorities on what was to be taught and learned during the COVID-19 lockdown, we asked Spanish Primary and Secondary teachers to choose and describe the activity they preferred among those carried out with their students during the pandemic. Our interest was to investigate what really happened in the classrooms, the type of learning favored by the practices, and the agreement between the teacher’s goals and their teaching We obtained 272 activities that we analyzed according to the proposed (...) goals, the types of learning worked, and the kind of teaching promoted. Results showed that most teachers proposed content-centered activities, oriented above all to verbal learning. There were clear differences between the proposed goals, partly student-centered, and what was really taught, essentially content-centered. We obtained two teaching profiles, one reproductive and the other constructive. (shrink)

The aim was to investigate and assess the acceptance of virtual classes among Arabic language student teachers during and beyond covid-19. Quantitative research is carried out with the aim to assess the acceptance of virtual classes among Arabic language student teachers during and beyond covid-19. It uses a survey-based methodology to obtain data from the respondents. An online questionnaire was used to collect data via Facebook and WhatsApp groups. 450 questionnaire responses were received. They were 300 males, and (...) 150 females. Results indicated that the student behavioral intention to use educational technology is positively affected by perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use. PU, PEOU yielded a coefficient of multiple regression of 0. 450 and a multiple correlation square of 0. 435. This shows that 43.5% of the total variance in student behavioral intention to use educational technology is accounted for by the combination of PU, PEOU. Efforts to integrate educational technology into teacher education and Arabic language student teachers education programs are necessary. (shrink)

Um in der religionspädagogischen Lehre Potenziale digitaler Formate produktiv zu integrieren, wurde das Seminar Kirchenpädagogik 2.0?! i. S. d. Flipped-Classroom-Konzepts entwickelt, durchgeführt und evaluiert: Lehramtsstudierende der Theologie sollen befähigt werden, virtuelle Kirchen(raum)erschließungen für eine schulische Zielgruppe zu konzipieren und zu erproben. Wissenschaftlich und hochschuldidaktisch gerahmt werden diese Praxiserfahrungen durch einen Online-Kurs sowie evaluative Begleitforschungen in Bezug auf digitalitätsbezogene Selbstwirksamkeitserfahrungen der teilnehmenden Studierenden. Der Beitrag zeigt, wie eine digitale Kultur in der (religions-)lehrer:innenbildenden Hochschullehre mittels Flipped-Classroom-Settings und VR-Technologie entwickelt sowie (...) evaluiert werden kann. (shrink)

The heart of design studio teaching is traditionally linked to one-on-one teaching activities and to the exchange of feedback prompting many design educators to think it does not lend itself to onl...

BackgroundAttention deficit hyperactivity disorder is clinically diagnosed; however, quantitative analysis to statistically analyze the symptom severity of children with ADHD via the measurement of head movement is still in progress. Studies focusing on the cues that may influence the attention of children with ADHD in classroom settings, where children spend a considerable amount of time, are relatively scarce. Virtual reality allows real-life simulation of classroom environments and thus provides an opportunity to test a range of theories in (...) a naturalistic and controlled manner. The objective of this study was to investigate the correlation between participants’ head movements and their reports of inattention and hyperactivity, and to investigate how their head movements are affected by different social cues of different sensory modalities.MethodsThirty-seven children and adolescents with and without ADHD were recruited for this study. All participants were assessed for diagnoses, clinical symptoms, and self-reported symptoms. A virtual reality-continuous performance test was conducted under four conditions: control, no-cue, visual cue, and visual/audio cue. A quantitativecomparison of the participants’ head movements was conducted in three dimensions using a head-mounted display in a VR classroom environment. Task-irrelevant head movements were analyzed separately, considering the dimension of movement needed to perform the VR-CPT.ResultsThe magnitude of head movement, especially task-irrelevant head movement, significantly correlated with the current standard of clinical assessment in the ADHD group. Regarding the four conditions, head movement showed changes according to the complexity of social cues in both the ADHD and healthy control groups.ConclusionChildren and adolescents with ADHD showed decreasing task-irrelevant movements in the presence of social stimuli toward the intended orientation. As a proof-of-concept study, this study preliminarily identifies the potential of VR as a tool to understand and investigate the classroom behavior of children with ADHD in a controlled, systematic manner. (shrink)

ABSTRACT Virtual reality (VR) is an increasingly popular artificially mediated, immersive experience that is accessed through a headset. Recent research is starting to provide evidence about the positive impact that virtual reality technology can have on teaching and learning. This research, to date, has been primarily undertaken in higher education and in disciplines related to the health sciences. In this article, the possibilities, and problematics of using virtual reality in taught character education approaches are explored. The article (...) proposes that VR can bring four learning opportunities for character educators that would not be possible in the traditional classroom. These expansive, immersive, embodied and autonomous learning opportunities can be harnessed to educate six components of virtue. In the article, the risks of VR use for character education are also investigated. The aim of the article is to get ahead of the EdTech developers and provide theoretical, conceptual and practical insights that will help ensure that the promise of VR to enhance character education can be realised. (shrink)

A virtual reality module that incorporates a training room (for subjects to become accommodated to virtual environments) and VR translations of Philippa Foot's Trolley Problem and Judith Thomson's Violinist thought experiment. -/- These modules are free to use for classroom or research/x-phi purposes. This set of modules is optimized for the HTC Vive. If you have an Oculus Rift, please see our VR modules optimized for the rift. -/- *Requires an HTC Vive and VR capable computer. To (...) access the simulation, uncompress the .zip folder and run the executable (.exe) file. (shrink)

A virtual reality translation of Philippa Foot's original "Trolley Problem." These modules are free to download and use in the classroom and for research/x-phi purposes. -/- *Requires an Oculus Rift or HTC Vive and VR capable computer. To open the files, uncompress the downloaded .zip folder and run the executable (.exe) file.

A virtual reality translation of Judith Thomson's Violinist Analogy. These modules are free to download and use in the classroom and for research/x-phi purposes. -/- *Requires an Oculus Rift or HTC Vive and VR capable computer. To open the files, uncompress the downloaded .zip folder and run the executable (.exe) file.

La Universidad Nacional San Luis Gonzaga, Ica-Perú, debido al Covid 19 se adecuó a la virtualidad implementando el aula virtual Laureasea. Esta investigación se realizó durante el semestre académico 2021-1. Objetivo: analizar de qué manera la educación virtual mejora el desempeño docente. Participaron 430 docentes de las 24 facultades respondiendo una encuesta virtual. Resultados significativos: 80% dictó una clase virtual por primera vez, 60% tenía acceso a una aula virtual, 68% ha mejorado su desempeño y (...) 75% prefiere las clases presenciales. Conclusiones: La educación virtual mejora significativamente el desempeño docente y prefieren el dictado de clases presenciales. (shrink)

A virtual reality translation of Robert Nozick's "Experience Machine" thought experiment from his "Anarchy, State, and Utopia" (1974). These modules are free to download and use in the classroom and for research/x-phi purposes. NPCs are randomized for gender during startup of each run. *Requires an Oculus Rift or HTC Vive and VR capable computer. To open the files, uncompress the downloaded .zip folder and run the executable (.exe) file. -/- V1.2 Fixed missing projector video footage during experience machine (...) sales pitch. (shrink)

In an atmosphere of shrinking state funds for edu cation and the glistening power of information technology, the administrators of educational institutions, especially higher education, are investing heavily in the construction and increased use of distance learning classrooms. Yet, in this rush to be both economi cally streamlined and technologically advanced, few policy makers are inquiring into the educational bene fits actually proffered to the end users, that is, teachers and students. This article advances such an inquiry by revealing how (...) the equipment in such facilities explic itly or implicitly embodies, and thereby determines, pedagogical choices. Such "hardwired" pedagogy may enhance the type and amount of data flow, but it effectively restricts the options for teaching and learn ing on the part of both the teacher and the student. Furthermore, virtual classrooms functionally transfer parametric control of classroom interaction from the participants to the equipment and therefore to the technicians, accountants, bureaucrats, manufacturers, and engineers. (shrink)

La Universidad Nacional San Luis Gonzaga, Ica-Perú, debido al Covid 19 se adecuó a la virtualidad implementando el aula virtual Laureasea. Esta investigación se realizó durante el semestre académico 2021-1. Objetivo: analizar de qué manera la educación virtual mejora el desempeño docente. Participaron 430 docentes de las 24 facultades respondiendo una encuesta virtual. Resultados significativos: 80% dictó una clase virtual por primera vez, 60% tenía acceso a una aula virtual, 68% ha mejorado su desempeño y (...) 75% prefiere las clases presenciales. Conclusiones: La educación virtual mejora significativamente el desempeño docente y prefieren el dictado de clases presenciales. (shrink)

An earlier version of this paper was presented at the 2011 IEEE International Symposium on Technology and Society at Saint Xavier University in Chicago, Illinois. We propose a cooperative approach by students in recording lecture activities such that the classroom becomes more visually accessible for everyone, especially for deaf, hard of hearing and low-vision students. Students utilize their personal camera-equipped smart phones to capture and share their views of a visually inaccessible classroom to students' devices. We show this (...) approach virtually retrofits a classroom to make it a more visually accessible learning environment. This approach can be used in meetings to get and share optimal views of the meeting for all participants. (shrink)

We examine the educational benefits of a virtual mentor program used to supplement classroom teaching of ethics, by connecting students with business practitioners through computer-mediated communications. Virtual mentoring can be a valuable and inexpensive way to extend the classroom lectures and discussion with real-world perspectives. In addition, it can serve additional purposes for students, such as learning how to develop a relationship with a mentor, and improving application of ethical concepts in practical situations. Is this potential (...) realistic for business ethics education? Based on a cross-case comparison of several virtual mentoring application and student satisfaction ratings, our findings establish that perspective and confidence increased in students’ transfer of ethical concepts and applying ethical judgment to business situations. Based on these experiences we suggest guidelines to individuals who teach business ethics, regarding the value of using a virtual mentor program, including practical lessons about implementing virtual mentors programs. (shrink)

While the pedagogical benefits of experiential learning are well known, classroom technology is a more contentious topic. In my experience, philosophy instructors are hesitant to embrace technology in their pedagogy. A great deal of this trepidation is justified: when technology serves only to replicate existing methods without contributing to course objectives, it unnecessarily adds extra work for the instructor and can even be a distraction from learning. However, I believe, if applied appropriately, technology can be used to positively enhance (...) the philosophy classroom experience in ways that are not possible in traditional classroom settings – including new ways of experiential learning. To demonstrate this, I offer a case study of implementing virtual reality as a tool for experiential learning of philosophy. I show how having students “walk a plank” off a skyscraper in VR allowed me to exceed my course objectives for my Existentialism course in particularly effective ways that I could not have done without this technology. (shrink)

This study aims to describe the learning motivation of students using virtual media when they are learning mathematics in grade 5. The research design applied in this research is classroom action research. The research is conducted in two phases which involve planning, action and observation and reflection. The results of the study revealed that intrinsic motivation to learn is most prevalent in the form of fun to learn mathematics with virtual media. Other forms of intrinsic motivation include (...) curiosity, need and interests, and satisfaction. Extrinsic motivation in the form of awarded and clarity of learning objectives. The most enjoyable learning experience for students was when they feel like they're learning more than they actually are. This level of enthusiasm increases with the level of learning complexity. The students are more active and motivated to learn. This can be evidenced by the increase in motivation to learn after the first phase. Unfortunately, the lack of bandwidth and time allocated for conducting experiments are some of the obstacles in the way of learning through virtual media. This study revealed that the use of virtual media could improve student's motivation for learning. (shrink)

The purpose of this paper is twofold: firstly, to explore the emotional aspects underlying classroom conflict management, and secondly, to apply these notions to the contrasted analysis of two case studies. Our findings underscore the importance of examining teachers’ emotional regulation to better understand their performance when dealing with conflicts that affect classroom climate. In the final section, we make suggestions for introducing this perspective into initial teacher training through the use of Virtual Reality, a scenario that (...) would allow pre-service teachers to experiment, record and reflect on affective and attitudinal issues that are decisive for effective classroom conflict management. (shrink)

The integration of technology in the classroom has significantly transformed the teaching of basic sciences. This article explores the challenges and opportunities teachers face in adopting innovative technology tools to enhance learning in subjects such as mathematics, biology, physics, and chemistry. Through a bibliographic review and a field study in educational institutions, the effects of these tools on the understanding of complex concepts, student motivation, and the role of the teacher are analyzed. The results suggest that while there are (...) barriers such as lack of adequate training and limited resources, innovative strategies such as gamification, virtual labs, and interactive platforms offer significant opportunities to improve learning outcomes. It is concluded that continuous training and equitable access to technology are key to maximizing the positive impact of these tools in the teaching of basic sciences. (shrink)

The federal government is deeply entrenched in American public education and virtually dictates what can be taught to students. Why? At what cost? And what are the benefits to public school students? To public schools? The author challenges the constitutionality of the feds in the classroom and reminds readers that public education has, until recently, been the function of state and local governments.

In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:The Contemplative Classroom, or Learning by Heart in the Age of GoogleBarbara NewmanIn his provocative essay “Slow Knowledge,” David Orr outlines the countervailing assumptions of what he calls “the culture of fast knowledge.” Among these are the widely shared, though rarely examined, beliefs that “only that which can be measured is true knowledge; the more knowledge we have, the better; there are no significant distinctions between information and (...) knowledge; and wisdom is an undefinable, hence unimportant category.”1 If all this were true, it would follow that computers are fast overtaking humans as the next intelligent species. Or, to put it differently, the two species have been colluding for some time to produce smarter machines and dumber people, as we humans abdicate more and more of our mental tasks. Moreover, when it comes time to weigh values—to ask not how quickly or efficiently some task can be done, but whether it ought to be done at all—we are strangely disinclined to challenge digital fatalism, which has become the default logic of late capitalism. Whenever a new digital option appears, we assume that if it can be done and someone somewhere is doing it, then it should be done and we ought to do it too. So even the local hardware store has to be on Facebook so customers can “like” it, and the AAR needs a Twitter account to send weekly tweets. We seldom pause to ask questions about means and ends, unintended consequences, or the sheer mindless clutter of our lives—let alone the implications of this or that new app for our descendants down to the seventh generation, or the enlightenment of all sentient beings. Surface obliterates depth; instant stimulation trumps mature reflection; short-term profit overrules the long-range good.Computers themselves are of course morally neutral. Nonetheless, it is useful to recall why contemplation is the antithesis of the fast knowledge they promote. Contemplative practice is grounded in such values as presence, mindfulness, inwardness, and the integration of mind and body. The last point is worth stressing, for all knowledge, even the most spiritual, is embodied; we are still biological beings, not cyborgs. Though contemplatives of the past have often been fierce ascetics, even the most emaciated hermit could scarcely despise the body to the degree that we find in [End Page 3] some contemporary Internet addicts. Consider the following, reported in July 2012 in Newsweek:When the new DSM [Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders] is released next year, Internet Addiction Disorder will be included for the first time, albeit in an appendix tagged for “further study.” China, Taiwan, and Korea recently accepted the diagnosis, and began treating problematic Web use as a grave national health crisis. In those countries,... the story is sensational front-page news. One young couple neglected its infant to death while nourishing a virtual baby online. A young man fatally bludgeoned his mother for suggesting he log off (and then used her credit card to rack up more hours). At least 10 ultra-Web users, serviced by one-click noodle delivery, have died of blood clots from sitting too long.2Even short of such extremes, numerous studies have linked excessive Internet use in the United States with increased rates of depression, anxiety, suicidal thoughts, and obsessive-compulsive behavior. Teens admit to being exhausted by the constant need to update their Facebook status and answer countless texts, yet they are afraid to log off for fear that some excitement may pass them by. There is even a new acronym, FOMO, for the fear of missing out. If a central aim of contemplative practice is to dismantle and disengage from the “false self,” there is no better tool for constructing false selves than social media. In her book Alone Together, the social psychologist Sherry Turkle quotes a young man who told her, “What I learned in high school was profiles, profiles, profiles, how to make a me.”3 Another student said he maintained four avatars onscreen at all times, along with his email, video games, and—yes—coursework. His “real life,” he said, was “just one more window,... not usually my best one.”4But social... (shrink)

Mathematics is an important foundation for the development of science education. In the past, when instructors taught mathematical concepts of geometry shapes, they usually used traditional textbooks and aids to conduct teaching activities, which resulted in students not being able to understand the principles completely. Nowadays, it has become a trend to integrate emerging technologies into mathematics courses and to use digital instructional aids. Emerging technologies can effectively enhance students’ sensory experience while strengthening their impressions and understandings of subject concepts. (...) In this paper, we apply virtual reality immersive technologies to develop a “virtual reality immersive learning mathematics geometry system,” which is used to teach mathematical geometry concepts. Teachers use the system to develop three basic mathematical geometry learning materials: “Triangular pyramid volume = 1/3 prism volume,” “Cone volume calculation,” and “Triangle center of gravity derivation.” In the experimental activity, the teacher uses virtual reality teaching aids to guide students to learn mathematical geometry concepts in a fun way so that they can achieve the effectiveness of immersive learning. This study explores the impact of using the virtual reality immersive learning mathematics geometry system on students’ technology acceptance, learning motivations, and learning performance. The experimental result showed that using the virtual reality immersive learning mathematics geometry system can improve the learning motivation and learning performance of students. The findings indicated that the experimental group had better learning outcomes after completing the learning tasks of three geometric units. The experimental group used the virtual reality immersive learning mathematics geometry system which can lead to better learning outcomes. According to the ARCS questionnaire, students in the experimental group were confident to understand new subjects. At the same time, the mode of completing the game can effectively give students a sense of accomplishment. The use of emerging technologies in the classroom can be an attractive learning mode for students. (shrink)

Visuospatial (VS) skills, or one’s ability to mentally manipulate spatial information about objects, are critical to STEM enrollment, retention, and achievement. Low level of VS skills may deter some people from joining the STEM workforce or complicate their learning experience. While there is plenty of evidence suggesting that VS skills can be improved through training, few accessible training programs exist as of now, particularly for younger students. The current study proposes a new direction of VS training focusing on the development (...) of visuospatial self-efficacy (VSSE), or one’s confidence that they can complete specific VS tasks. The collaborative, desktop/mobile Virtual Reality game called [hidden for peer review] (available for download at [hidden for peer review]) was designed to improve VSSE in middle school students. A total of 169 students across 11 classrooms in 3 middle schools in a mid-western city in the United States participated in the intervention. The participants in the experimental condition (n=96, 6 classrooms) played the intervention game during 4 sessions over the course of 2 weeks, while the participants in the control condition (n=73, 5 classrooms) engaged in typical class activities. The results revealed that the intervention significantly increased students’ VS self-efficacy but not their VS performance or STEM performance. The implications and significance of the findings are discussed along with suggestions for further research. (shrink)

Direct instruction (PowerPoint presentations, lectures) often imposes hierarchical classroom structures where the teachers are considered experts, imparting knowledge to passive learners. However, the emergence of tools like Multi-User Virtual Environments (MUVEs) encourages the creation of democratic learning environments. We hypothesize that these tools lead to higher degrees of civil discourse within the classroom and create transformative learning trajectories for students, allowing them to create shared purpose to incite social change. By comparing reflectivity displayed in weekly students’ blogging (...) assignments in a classroom using an MUVE (Second Life), and one using direct instruction, we sought to gauge the effect MUVEs had on students’ reflectivity with the passage of time. Results indicated that MUVEs facilitated more critical reflection and transformative learning trajectories as compared to direct instruction frameworks. (shrink)

In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:Learning in Dramatic and Virtual Worlds:What Do Students Say About Complementarity and Future Directions?John O'Toole (bio) and Julie Dunn (bio)A top financial backer has arrived to determine which team of computer interaction designers has developed the most exciting and innovative proposal for the Everest component of the Virtually Impossible Computer Company's Conquerors of the World Series. Tension is high as the presentations begin, but this tension soon turns (...) to outright conflict as some proposals suggest George Mallory as the conqueror, and the financial backer will have none of him. The backer, it seems, has her own agenda and is determined to allow for only one view of history—the one that records Sir Edmund Hillary as a New Zealand hero and the only real conqueror of the tallest mountain on earth. The designers become more and more agitated until suddenly someone bangs their hand on the table and calls out, "Hang on... just because you've got the money doesn't mean... kids need to learn about both these men... they need to learn about history." With that the drama is cut by the teacher. The deep understandings about "history's purchased page" that can be generated when drama and computers are brought together for learning have been made explicit... but could these same outcomes have been achieved using just one of these approaches?IntroductionThe research explored within this article was generated as part of the Media Station, a project funded by the Australasian Collaborative Research Centre for Interaction Design (ACID), with an overall mission to investigate the potential of massively multiplayer online games for learning. This particular subproject, History's Purchased Page, saw researchers from interaction design [End Page 89] and drama education come together with a group of young learners to investigate their perceptions of the complementarity of computers and live classroom drama and to brainstorm future possibilities for applying computer-based technologies to drama-based learning. We sought to discover the following:• What do young learners say about how they experience and value learning in a context involving a combination of drama and computers?• What ideas do these young learners have about how future technologies might enrich the complementarity of this combination?As the drama researchers involved in this project, we had been experimenting with this perhaps slightly unusual combination for over a decade by incorporating computers into a number of our drama units within our primary textbook Pretending to Learn.1 Our goal in these experimentations had always been to enrich the classroom drama experience by taking advantage of the information capacity of the Internet and other computer-based resources, including databases. For example, we had used The First Fleet Database2 to support a drama unit where the learners take on the role of convicts arriving in Australia in 1788. We discovered that this material, combined with other documentation and historical materials available via the Internet, greatly enhanced not only the historical accuracy of the work but also the level of engagement experienced by the learners when in role. Therefore, we were very keen to extend this work by exploring new possibilities and were especially keen to develop a better understanding of what the learners made of this interactivity.In recent years the partnering of these two quite different approaches to learning has developed quite a research following, and a number of drama teachers and researchers have become interested in the complementarity of these ways of learning.3 At the same time, researchers and designers from the field of computer-assisted learning have also noted these connections. This goes back to the work of Brenda Laurel, who first drew attention to the intriguing links between computers and theatre in her now famous text Computers as Theatre.4 With the rapid growth of interactive learning tools such as 3-D immersive worlds, blogs, and online voice and text chat spaces, the opportunities for exploration of these connections have also grown, with each of these offering exciting new possibilities when used in conjunction with the highly interactive and engaging strategies of process drama.Process drama is a way of group learning, through whole-class improvised drama, with students (and sometimes the... (shrink)

_'Shirley zips into her skin-tight school uniform, which on the outside looks something like a ski suit. The lining of the suit in fact contains cabling that makes the suit a communication system and there are pressure pads where the suit touches skin that give a sense of touch. Next, she sits astride something that is a bit like a motorbike, except that it has no wheels and is attached firmly to the floor. Her feet fit on to something similar (...) to a brake and accelerator and her gloved hands hold onto handlebars. She shouts, "I'm off to school, Dad". Her father, who is taking time out from his teleworking, begins to remind her that the family are going teleshopping in the virtual city later in the day, but it is too late, his daughter has already donned her school helmet. She is no longer in the real world of her real home, she is in the virtual world of her virtual school.'_ Is this the shape of the future of education? This book presents a vision of what will happen to education and training as information technology develops. The argument is simple. To prepare people for life in an information society they need to be taught with the technology of an information society. But what shape will that take? Can the classroom as we know it - a communications system which has been in place for four thousand years - be replaced? The authors argue that through the development of telecommunications for telelearning a genuine revolution in education is in the making. The book describes how, through the convergence of a cluster of new technologies including virtual reality, artificial intelligence, nanotechnology and the superhighways of telecommunications, a new educational paradigm will emerge in the form of a virtual class. Teachers, trainers and educators who worry about how best to prepare students for life in an ever-changing world will find much inspiration in this engagingly written and jargon-free book. (shrink)

This intervention plan will be implemented at the Maryland Educational Unit in Córdoba. Due to technological advances, teachers and students need to incorporate ICT into classroom learning, developing new skills that will help them stay at the forefront of their field. For this reason, we are proposing a training project on educational innovation, providing tools and strategies such as artificial intelligence, aimed at primary school teachers, for the inclusion of new technologies in classroom practices during the 2024 school (...) year. Six meetings will be held. In the first stage, an informative meeting will be held with the management team and then with the teachers. The first meeting will present the topic of artificial intelligence and its applications in education. The second meeting will introduce Chat GPT, and the third meeting will present virtual reality. The fourth meeting will present different platforms for exploring educational virtual reality content. This will be followed by a practical class. The last meeting will present additional resources and online communities for further exploration of these technologies. The meetings will be led by the external educational advisor. The institution's resources will be used. It is hoped that, with these tools, teachers will acquire critical thinking, reflection, comparison and analysis skills for use in the school environment. These tools develop creativity and innovation, exploring multiple possibilities. The purchase of virtual reality glasses is recommended. (shrink)

Collaborative behaviors provide useful signals for understanding how minds align through perception and actions. Virtual reality (VR) is a useful tool for studying these behaviors, as it enables fine‐grained measurements of coordination in virtual social settings. In this work, we investigate collaborative behaviors in a large‐scale classroom VR dataset of space‐building activities (N = 146), focusing on dyadic synchrony and individual task engagement during the collaborative group activity. An analysis of collaborative behaviors over time revealed a U‐shaped (...) pattern in head and hand synchrony, with a turning point occurring approximately two‐thirds into the activity. We found that the likelihood of dyads temporally aligning their object editing behaviors (i.e., nonzero vs. zero synchrony scores) and whether they actively created, edited, or deleted objects all followed an inverted‐U shape over time, peaking around midway through the activity. We further analyzed synchrony and task engagement both as possible indicators of individual dispositions (i.e., previous extended reality [XR] and design experiences) and social context (i.e., group size), and also as behavioral signals for how individuals perceive their group members and collaborative outcomes. The findings revealed that collaborative behaviors such as object edit synchrony are shaped by previous XR experience, group size negatively predicted the frequency of object creation, and that the frequency of object deletion is positively associated with perception of group closeness. Taken together, this work advances the understanding of collaborative behavior by modeling its temporal dynamics, identifying predictors and psychological outcomes, thereby demonstrating how VR enables large‐scale examination of its cognitive underpinnings. (shrink)

This intervention plan will be implemented at the Maryland Educational Unit in Córdoba. Due to technological advances, teachers and students need to incorporate ICT into classroom learning, developing new skills that will help them stay at the forefront of their field. That is why we are proposing to develop a training project on educational innovation, providing tools and strategies such as artificial intelligence, aimed at primary school teachers, for the inclusion of new technologies in classroom practices during the (...) 2024 school year. Six meetings will be held. In the first stage, an informative meeting will be held with the management team and then with the teachers. The first meeting will present the topic of artificial intelligence and its applications in education. The second meeting will introduce Chat GPT, and the third meeting will present virtual reality. The fourth meeting will present different platforms for exploring educational virtual reality content. This will be followed by a practical class. The last meeting will present additional resources and online communities for further exploration of these technologies. The meetings will be led by the external educational advisor. The institution's resources will be used. It is hoped that, with these tools, teachers will acquire critical thinking, reflection, comparison and analysis skills for use in the school environment. These tools develop creativity and innovation, exploring multiple possibilities. The purchase of virtual reality glasses is recommended. (shrink)

Not surprisingly, historians’ perceptions of the medical faculty of Montpellier c. 1300 have been shaped by the accomplishments of the two great figures active there at that time, Arnau de Vilanova and Bernard de Gordon. Both wrote a considerable number of long works on the theory and practice of medicine, works whose character and scope are virtually unparalleled in Western Europe at that moment, and in the ensuing half-century several other Montpellier masters—Stephen Arlandi, Jordan de Turre, Gérard de Solo—produced similar (...) writings. Arnau and Bernard, it would seem, launched a self-conscious intellectual and literary tradition at Montpellier at the beginning of the fourteenth century, one that set the school well apart from its northern counterpart, Paris. (shrink)

Not surprisingly, historians’ perceptions of the medical faculty of Montpellier c. 1300 have been shaped by the accomplishments of the two great figures active there at that time, Arnau de Vilanova and Bernard de Gordon. Both wrote a considerable number of long works on the theory and practice of medicine, works whose character and scope are virtually unparalleled in Western Europe at that moment, and in the ensuing half-century several other Montpellier masters—Stephen Arlandi, Jordan de Turre, Gérard de Solo—produced similar (...) writings. Arnau and Bernard, it would seem, launched a self-conscious intellectual and literary tradition at Montpellier at the beginning of the fourteenth century, one that set the school well apart from its northern counterpart, Paris. (shrink)

New challenges in the development of teaching methods lead to a large number of new tools, methods, and approaches to teaching. The structure and functions of a class as a basic social group in education is being radically transformed, becoming more and more virtual especially in COVID-19/post-covid period. In this regard, this study proposes a model that generalizes the existing trends in changing forms of education towards its digitalization, virtualization and mobility to increase the effectiveness of pedagogical practice. The (...) model is based on Pierre Bourdieu’s model of a social field, which has proven its effectiveness in pedagogy. The study considers the communicative space of the class as an integral structure aimed at the optimal academic, social and moral development of the participants. Considering a physical and communicational expanse of class as a social field that describes the field of cognitive, social, and psychological interaction between participants in the educational process, the study tries to establish its structure, stages of formation and suggests considering examples of partial successful application of similar models in other studies. The proposed model acts as a generalization, combining models and approaches previously used on the basis of the social field theory. The practical application of this model will make possible the classroom learning process more effective in both online and off-line implication and social interaction less conflict and stable. (shrink)

These essays by Old Dominion University students deal with two questions: What impact do their own race, class, gender, and ethnic identities have upon them as students? How do their culture and the university culture interact to affect their ability to learn? The focus of these essays is on the overlap between the students’ identities as students and their identities based on gender, race, class, and ethnic origin. The project began as an assignment in a women’s studies class at Old (...) Dominion University in 1993, when students in a mixed graduate and undergraduate course were asked to write a brief analysis of themselves as students, accounting for the impact of gender, race, and social class on what they studied, what they heard in class, how they were treated in the classroom, how they treated others there, and what their level of comfort in the university was. Invited to add other variables, such as religion, nationality, age, sexual orientation, or disability— if they considered these significant to their identities as students—the students were urged to consider not only the disadvantages these various identities gave them but also the privileges and advantages. The resulting essays stimulated great interest in what students had to say and led to the formation of The Broad Minds Collective—made up of four students from the class as well as its instructor—which set about the task of soliciting and collecting additional essays. Although most essays contain overlapping themes, the editors detected four motifs that encompass virtually every essay included in the book. In the section "Cultural Perceptions and Assumptions," students show their awareness of how culturally defined categories affect education. Essays in "Belonging and Alienation in the Classroom" discuss the students’ level of comfort in the classroom and the degree to which they feel they belong at the university. The essays in "Making Sense of Our Lives Through Education" reveal the students’ use of education to learn more about the forces that shape them. "In Search of an Education" highlights students’ efforts to wrest what they feel they need from a college education. Rather than presenting a "multicultural educational theory" or conducting a sterile sociological study, The Broad Minds Collective has allowed students to speak for themselves. Abstraction is replaced by stories of personal conflict, struggle, and victory. __. (shrink)

Phenomenographic research about teachers’ conception of teaching has consistently revealed that teachers’ conception of teaching influence their classroom practices, which in turn shape students’ learning experiences. This paper reports teachers’ conceptions of teaching with regards to the use of interactive spherical video-based virtual reality in Chinese descriptive composition writing. Twenty-one secondary teachers in Hong Kong involved in an ISV-VR-supported Chinese descriptive writing program participated in this phenomenographic study. Analyses of the semi-structured interviews establish seven conception categories that are (...) specifically related to the use of ISV-VR for descriptive Chinese composition writing: offering students more observational opportunities; improving students’ writing skills; promoting students’ learning participation and motivation; shifting learning from teacher-centric to student-centric, enhancing collaborative learning among students; cultivating students’ positive values and moral character, and shaping students’ self-identity as “writers.” The concurrent and convenient access to the ISV-VR resources was for the teachers an enriched and supportive environment for them to cultivate students’ writer identity. In addition, it was discovered that the structural relationships of the conceptions may be better organized along three axes of continuum: conception’s orientation, teaching attention locus, and understanding of writing. These categories form a hierarchy from skill-oriented to community-oriented, and finally to identity-oriented conception. The findings may provide researchers and practitioners with novel insight into the teaching of composition writing in the contexts of L1 acquisition supported by virtual reality technology. (shrink)

Non-verbal enrichment in the form of pictures or gesture can support word learning in first and foreign languages. The present study seeks to compare the effects of viewing pictures vs. imitating iconic gestures on learning second language (L2) vocabulary. In our study participants learned L2 words (nouns, verbs, and adjectives) together with a virtual, pedagogical agent. The to-be-learned items were either (i) enriched with pictures, or (ii) with gestures that had to be imitated, or (iii) without any non-verbal enrichment (...) as control. Results showed that gesture imitation was particularly supportive for learning nouns, whereas pictures showed to be most beneficial for memorizing verbs. These findings, suggesting that the type of vocabulary learning strategy has to match with the type of linguistic material to be learned, have important educational implications for L2 classrooms and technology-enhanced tutoring systems. (shrink)

In this paper, we draw on Foucault's and Deleuze's theorisations of discipline and control, respectively, to understand a teacher accountability system in the US state of Texas: the Texas Teacher Evaluation and Support System (hereafter, T-TESS). Specifically, we focus on the interplay of physical and virtual modes of governance – which we develop here as physical–virtual hybridity – and the techniques that make these physical and virtual domains compatible via language interoperability, with T-TESS deployed as a representative (...) empirical case to show how such technologies work to govern teacher subjectivity. First, in-person appraiser meetings and observations re-code teachers’ linguistic behaviours, so their physical bodies and practices can become legible to and interoperable with the hybrid T-TESS system. This avoids any possible syntax errors between the linguistic expression of physical teacher speech and the digital coding language of T-TESS. Second, these digital bodies of data can now be viewed as proxies for the physical teacher body in the classroom, allowing the constant modulation in physical space (teacher bodies) and digital space (bodies of data). This is the physical–virtual hybridity of T-TESS, whereby discipline and control work symbiotically to govern both the physical and the digital expressions of teachers and their teaching. In this way, the disciplining of teachers’ language has profound effects on teachers’ bodies, both corporeal and digital. (shrink)

In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:Reviewed by:Music Education in an Age of Virtuality and Post-Truth by Paul WoodfordPanagiotis A. KanellopoulosPaul Woodford, Music Education in an Age of Virtuality and Post-Truth (New York, Routledge, 2018)This book is provocative. And challenging. It is written with passion, aiming to induce controversy. And with good reason. For we live in times when populism professes an illusionary sense of community, invoking a seemingly 'anti-systemic' but highly hypocritical, racist, and (...) sexist discourse;1 in times where "bullshitting"2 has advanced to the highest governmental levels in many countries; in times where "authoritarian neoliberal statism"3 becomes the new status quo, inducing a scandalous increase of economic inequalities, forcing large populations to live precarious lives; in times where privatization of educational services in the context of market-oriented practices impose restrictive and ultimately unjust politics of accountability and performativity;4 in times where instrumentalization of educational ends has taken the lead, assisted by a systematic co-option and misappropriation of notions such as excellence and creativity;5 in times, finally, where spaces that allow for "the sharing (out) of the incalculable,"6 forging unknown potentialities in education, life, and thought, are being destroyed. In such times, Paul Woodford has stepped in, reclaiming his right to speak uncompromisingly.Hannah Arendt has written that "[w]hen men [sic] are deprived of the public space--which is constituted by acting together and then fills of its own accord [End Page 108] with the events and stories that develop into history--they retreat into their freedom of thought."7 Woodford refuses to retreat. He writes as a public intellectual of the highest order, committed to upset and not please those in power. A great service that his latest book performs is that it speaks daringly, stirring a debate that helps us all to do away with fear. For as Bertrand Russell has aptly said quite a long time ago, "[I]f thought is to become the possession of many, not the privilege of the few, we must have done with fear. It is fear that holds men [sic] back."8Resisting the "melancholy of inner exile,"9 but not immune to possible accusations of left melancholy, understood as "a refusal to come to terms with the particular character of the present,"10 the author wrote a book that provokes music educators to actively think beyond their sealed and safe world of convictions that is based on ideology-free conceptions of music teaching. Estelle Jorgensen has long ago brought to our attention the urgency of this task: "in an era in which the mindset and political reality have changed dramatically, … there is an urgent need to revisit the political character of music education and the ways in which it needs to address the cultural issues of our day."11Along this pathway, Woodford's book encourages music educators to live and teach as public intellectuals, forging "a democratic purpose for music education"12 that acts against the "anachronistic and formalist conception of music that reduces music education to supply-side economics as children are conceived as either future professional musicians or consumers and not as citizens to be prepared in schools to participate intelligently in the political life of society."13 Woodford articulates a vision of music education "as preparation for adulthood and democratic and global citizenship."14 He strongly advocates an approach that balances performance and creativity-based experiences with a socio-historical study of the social, ideological, and cultural workings of different musics in a wide variety of contexts. He encourages music educators to teach "how music's structural properties and qualities contribute to the shaping of people's perceptions and understandings of themselves and their world,"15 "asking the who, what, when, where, how, to, with, or for whom, and, most importantly of all, why of music."16 He envisions a music classroom that exercises social criticism "directly and self-consciously"17 both through "learning how to make music"18 and through thinking about music. He sees this approach as a tool for raising students' consciousness. Woodford's ultimate vision of music education is one that casts it as a means for cultivating "a justice-oriented" approach... (shrink)

It is widely recognized that police performance may be hindered by psychophysiological state changes during acute stress. To address the need for awareness and control of these physiological changes, police academies in many countries have implemented Heart-Rate Variability biofeedback training. Despite these trainings now being widely delivered in classroom setups, they typically lack the arousing action context needed for successful transfer to the operational field, where officers must apply learned skills, particularly when stress levels rise. The study presented here (...) aimed to address this gap by training physiological control skills in an arousing decision-making context. We developed a Virtual-Reality breathing-based biofeedback training in which police officers perform deep and slow diaphragmatic breathing in an engaging game-like action context. This VR game consisted of a selective shoot/don’t shoot game designed to assess response inhibition, an impaired capacity in high arousal situations. Biofeedback was provided based on adherence to a slow breathing pace: the slower and deeper the breathing, the less constrained peripheral vision became, facilitating accurate responses to the in-game demands. A total of nine male police trainers completed 10 sessions over a 4-week period as part of a single-case experimental ABAB study-design. Results showed that eight out of nine participants showed improved breathing control in action, with a positive effect on breathing-induced low frequency HRV, while also improving their in-game behavioral performance. Critically, the breathing-based skill learning transferred to subsequent sessions in which biofeedback was not presented. Importantly, all participants remained highly engaged throughout the training. Altogether, our study showed that our VR environment can be used to train breathing regulation in an arousing and active decision-making context. (shrink)

Critical Gaming: Interactive History and Virtual Heritage can be seen as a collection of chapters designed to provoke thought and discussion, or it can be seen and used as separate chapters that may help class debate in courses dealing with the digital humanities, game studies (especially in the areas of serious games and game-based learning) or aspects of virtual heritage. While there are very few books in this intersecting area, the range of topics that could be investigated and (...) debated is huge. So instead I have concentrated on questions in areas that appear to be central to the intersection of these three areas, have not currently been debated to any great extent or are topics that would suit either individual reflection or classroom discussion and debate. (shrink)

As digital technologies increasingly permeate everyday life, young people’s engagement with virtual environments has become both a site of fascination and alarm. Adult anxieties often frame digital life through deterministic narratives that equate screen time with disconnection, depression, and academic decline. Yet, such perspectives overlook the complex and relational ways young people use digital tools to build meaning, community, and joy. This paper employs a postdigital lens to challenge these deficit framings by centering the practices of Black communities within (...) the digital fighting game community (FGC). Drawing on digital ethnography, we highlight how Black modalities—embodiment, non-linear temporalities, and communal orientations—shape literacy practices that move fluidly across digital and physical spaces. These practices illuminate how the FGC nurtures relationships, mutual aid, and cultural innovation that resist individualistic and capitalist logics often associated with digital technologies. By foregrounding the contributions of Black and other non-dominant groups, we argue for expanding postdigital educational research to recognize historically marginalized literacies. Ultimately, we suggest that centering Black modalities provides educators with models for cultivating more equitable and relational digital literacies in classrooms, unsettling deterministic binaries of technology as either purely harmful or beneficial. (shrink)

The radical transformations caused by the rapid development of information and communication technologies in the mid-1990s prompted the transition to the knowledge society which identified the key role of knowledge as the most important and valuable capital of organizations and had a decisive impact on the development of corporate training. In our study, we aimed to analyze the training methods used in American companies in the knowledge society, particularly, their feasibility, features, benefits and possible limitations. The results of our study (...) show that, at present, e-learning is considerably more widely used in American companies than instructor-led classroom training. Most organizations use blended learning which implies the combination of e-learning methods and instructor-led learning methods. A powerful stimulus for the wide implementation of e-learning methods was produced by the COVID-19 pandemic when the use of educational technologies made it possible for the companies not only to continue training and development of their employees but also to implement tactical and strategic practices which will have long-term implications for the future of the training industry. The most widely used e-learning methods in American companies are virtual classroom/webcast, online or computer-based methods, social learning, augmented reality, virtual reality, and artificial intelligence. In spite of certain limitations of e-learning methods, they have a number of important benefits which allow companies to expand access to training, save costs, increase adaptability and flexibility of learning programs, etc., and thus satisfy their needs in qualified employees. (shrink)

With the widespread availability of personal information on the internet and its potential unauthorized disclosure, the rapid advancement of technology has brought forth numerous ethical challenges. Balancing the conflict between privacy and information collection is a pressing concern that necessitates thoughtful consideration from all stakeholders. Philosophers play a crucial role in providing a moral framework to address this conflict. While ongoing debates on privacy persist in the Western context, this chapter focuses on evaluating the contribution and limitations of Confucianism to (...) these discussions. Specifically, it examines the debate’s central issues of uncertainty and risk associated with privacy violations and highlights the significance of the intimacy account within Confucian thought. By analyzing Confucianism’s emphasis on intimate relationships, particularly within the family structure, this chapter argues that it offers a unique perspective for addressing privacy concerns. However, it also acknowledges the limitations of applying Confucianism to the privacy debates in A.I. and technology ethics, cautioning against oversimplifying the discussion into an East-West dichotomy. Drawing from the aforementioned analysis, this chapter further explores the evaluation of privacy issues in practical examples and applications within the realm of A.I. and technology ethics. These examples include the ethical implications of Chatbots interacting with deceased individuals and the utilization of technologies in education in both physical and virtual classrooms. (shrink)

The COVID-19 pandemic crisis has had profound effects on global health, healthcare, and public health policy. It has also impacted education. Within undergraduate healthcare education of doctors, nurses, and allied professions, rapid shifts to distance learning and pedagogic content creation within new realities, demands of healthcare practice settings, shortened curricula, and/or earlier graduation have also challenged ethics teaching in terms of curriculum allotments or content specification. We propose expanding the notion of resilience to the field of ethics education under the (...) conditions of remote learning. Educational resilience starts in the virtual classroom of ethics teaching, initially constituted as an “unpurposed space” of exchange about the pandemic’s challenging impact on students and educators. This continuously transforms into “purposed space” of reflection, discovering ethics as a repertory of orientative knowledge for addressing the pandemic’s challenges on personal, professional, societal, and global levels and for discovering (and then addressing) that the health of individuals and populations also has moral determinants. As such, an educational resilience framework with inherent adaptability rises to the challenge of supporting the moral agency of students acting both as professionals and as global citizens. Educational resilience is key in supporting and sustaining professional identify formation and facilitating the development of students’ moral resilience and leadership amid moral complexity and potential moral transgression—not only but especially in times of pandemic. (shrink)

In response to the interruption of all levels of education following COVID-19, we start by underlining the difference between emergency remote teaching and online learning. Next, we inquire into the question of presence in physical and virtual classrooms, and offer a discussion of presence as “being-here-now,” a “movement toward becoming,” and as gelassenheit or “releasement toward things.” We highlight the materiality of communication, and the performative production and transformation of the classroom space. Finally, we illustrate how performative writing (...) enhances the sense of being-here-now, and facilitates the co-inhabiting of online learning spaces that lack co-presence of bodies in the same physical environment. (shrink)

The spread of the COVID-19 pandemic quickly necessitated digital learning, which bore challenges for all pupils but especially for groups disadvantaged in a virtual classroom. As some studies indicate persistent differences between boys and girls in use of technologies and related skills, the aim of this study was to investigate gender differences in the digital learning environment students faced in spring 2020. Previous studies investigating gender differences in digital learning largely used biological sex as the only indicator of (...) gender. This study includes both biological sex and gender role self-concept in order to investigate the role of gender in different components of this stereotyped domain in a more differentiated way. A total of 19,190 Austrian secondary school students participated in an online study in April 2020 and answered questions regarding their competence beliefs, intrinsic value, engagement, and perceived teacher support in digital learning during the pandemic-induced school closures. Results showed higher perceived teacher support, intrinsic value, and learning engagement among girls than boys, while no significant sex differences were found in competence beliefs regarding digital learning. Furthermore, our results indicated clear benefits of an androgynous gender role self-concept for all studied components of digital learning. Implications of the findings for theory and practice are discussed. (shrink)